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College students go national

Thirteen students from Okanagan College’s Enactus team are preparing to take on the rest of the country in Vancouver
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Thirteen students from Okanagan College’s Enactus team will be a whole lot busier this semester as they prepare to take on the rest of the country in Vancouver in May after notching three first-place finishes at the Regional Western Canada Enactus Exposition in Calgary last weekend.

The team from OC came first in financial education, entrepreneurship and youth empowerment, as well as third in ecoliving green. The four podium finishes earned the team $5,000 in cash prizes and three berths to the National Exposition on May 9 to 11.

The four teams are made up of students from Kelowna, Vernon and Penticton. They represent a much larger contingent of students who deliver community-based projects through Enactus Okanagan College.

“This is an absolutely fantastic result for our students,” said Roy Daykin, vice-president of employee and corporate services, who was present at the competition to support the team.

“We know first-hand the impact our students have in our community based on the quality of the work they do on projects like CANSave and Silver Surfers but to be recognized at this competition validates just how relevant their work is.”

Enactus Okanagan College won first in the Scotiabank Youth Empowerment challenge after presenting on the impact of the CANSave project. The Vernon-based team was made up of Mitchell Pepper, Christianne Edblad, and Anthony Peterson, who are all from Vernon and Gabby Edblad (Kelowna). The team was coached by professor Andrew Klingel.

“Regionals showed me Enactus goes beyond my college, beyond B.C. even,” said Christianne Edblad.

“The fact that OC students are spending hours and hours of our time to make the world a better place is beyond me.”